Change is inevitable.


I think that every Adventist has to go through a time or times of question. Questions like, How do I fit into this church? Is Adventism still relevant? Why am I a part of this movement? Is it even doing anything?

I have seen many of my friends go through these religious identity crises, and while some have decided to stay Adventist, most have either embraced their inner "Bad-Ventist", or simply disconnected from the church altogether. And really, I don't blame them sometimes. In a recent article from Jan Paulsen, the current president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a church is described that is resistant to change. Please read it here:

He says, "I can understand Peter’s awe and bewilderment as he witnessed the glory of the transfigured Christ. “Lord,” he says. “Let’s stay here—let’s build three shelters on the mountaintop, one for You, Elijah, and Moses” (see Matt. 17:1-5). But Christ went back down the mountain and continued His ministry to humanity.

Adventism doesn’t belong on the mountaintop either; it belongs to the communities in which we live and work, with all their untidiness and disorder and change."


Reading the rest of the article, I thought, this is it. My friends gave up on this church because it gave up on them. On Sabbath mornings, they would preach about the mark of the beast, but these friends were craving relevancy to what they were experiencing at the time. Why has the world church feared creativity, community, openness, technology, music, and dance? Our generation, the Millennials, have so much to offer and I was encouraged by this article that someone has noticed.

Read it. Tell me what you think. That's your assignment. Thanks, Alex Bryan for posting it first.

2 comments:

lexylu said...

Rika,

This article hits on some key points! It reminds me of Amy Grant's old song, "Mountain Top." Thinking things over, I agree that change is a natural, important part of life, culture & community. In this light, change can bring new energy, creativity & healing. But when it comes to spiritual matters, simply say the word "change" and often people fear that what we're really talking about is compromise. (But we're not, and that's where things get sticky, yeah?) But true, spirit-led change occurs in a totally different realm, and is totally transforming in the best of ways! Tradition is super stubborn at times, but God can work with anything, thank goodness. I'm finally realizing how He so wants to heal, restore us and make us whole. and He can work with just about anything - He's that awesome, that good. I think when we get to heaven, we'll be surprised at how music/choir is arranged. God will probably put the organists next to the guitarists, just for fun!

ps. here are those Mountain Top lyrics :)

I love to sing and I love to pray,
Worship the Lord most every day.
I go to the temple, and I just want to stay
To hide from the hustle of the world and its ways.

chorus:
And I'd love to live on a mountain top,
Fellowshipping with the Lord.
I'd love to stand on a mountain top,
'Cause I love to feel my spirit soar...
But I've got to come down
From the mountain top
To the people in the valley below;
Or they'll never know that they can go
To the mountain of the Lord.

Now praising the Father is a good thing to do,
To worship the Trinity in spirit and truth.
But if we worshipped all of the time,
Well, there would be no one to lead the blind.

(chorus)

Now I am not saying that worship is wrong,
But worship is more than just singin' some songs,
'Cause it's all that we say and everything that we do;
It's letting God's Spirit live through you.

(chorus)

lexylu said...

One last thought (hehe, as if my last comment wasn't long enough!) now that you got us all thinking...

I wonder how much of it comes down to generational issues? For example, our grandparents' generation seems to relate to a God of rules and order. (Let's call this the "hymn" generation =) While our generation relates to Heavenly Father of love who wants so badly to give us life, freedom & new hearts! and while He is very much a God of order (in a beautiful, supernatural way), His Fatherly ways make us want to run to Him, experience Him, and share Him with others. No wonder we want to sing & dance! Perhaps we ought to focus on bridging the generational communication gap? Then we could begin to talk about change without everyone getting so scared. Rika - you majored in Communications, right??? =)

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